One Piece fans have been speculating that Luffy and Shanks will fight each other but Eiichiro Oda has already hinted that this clash will not happen.

Luffy's biggest test will be facing Shanks for the last Road Poneglyph, determining his fate as Pirate King. Luffy’s reunion ... own — the Emperor of the Sea, Red Haired Shanks.

While the earlier episodes mainly focused on Shanks passing ... focused on Luffy's inability to take any action to save Ace and escape Impel Down due to the presence of the sea.